The council hall was quieter than usual. Incense thinned in the air, and the elders' voices stayed low, careful. No one spoke of Xiao Chen by name at first. They circled the subject.
"…the construct he formed held longer than anticipated," Elder Wu said, fingers pressed together. "Our catalogues don't have a match for that kind of stability."
"It pressed the arena near collapse," Elder Shen replied. "Even those watching from the rear seats felt… something unpleasant. It wasn't just pressure. It felt wrong."
Elder Li nodded once. "Several juniors reported nausea. A few had trouble circulating their dou qi for a moment. Whatever it was, it interfered."
A pause. Porcelain clinked as someone set down a cup.
Elder Zhao cleared his throat. "We have youth who can't handle a mid-tier storm technique without stumbling. The fault may be theirs."
"That excuses the juniors," Elder Li said, "not the elders who felt it as well."
They fell into the same quiet again, each testing how far to go.
Elder Wu spoke without looking up. "Power of that sort tends to attract attention outside the clan. If it continues, decisions we thought settled may be revisited for… practical reasons."
"Practicality," Elder Shen repeated, not agreeing, not disagreeing.
From the side of the hall, Xiao Yu took a step forward. "Stop dancing around it." Her voice was steady, not loud. "You want to talk about taking him back. Say it plainly."
Several elders shifted. Elder Zhao's eyes lowered. Elder Wu met her gaze.
"We are discussing consequences," he said. "Nothing more."
"Consequences," Xiao Yu said. "He poisoned me. He chose it. You saw what he became in the arena. You all felt it. Bring that back into our gates and tell our juniors it's the right path? What lesson is that?"
No one answered immediately.
Elder Shen folded his arms. "No one has proposed an invitation. We are asking what our stance should be if outside pressure mounts. There will be offers. Leashes. Contracts. If we say nothing now, others will try to say it for us."
"And if we pretend there's no danger," Elder Li added, "we leave our people blind when they meet it again. At minimum, we need time. Distance."
The heavy doors opened. Xiao Yan entered, a half-bow to the dais as the room turned to him. He didn't stride; he moved as if he wasn't sure whether to be here at all, but he did not stop once he started.
"Elders," he said, voice clear enough to carry, "I came to ask for a longer interval between the next matches."
Elder Wu's brows lifted. "On what grounds?"
"We're not prepared," Xiao Yan said. He glanced toward the windows, then back. "What appeared on the arena today wasn't something our records explain. If we rush, we force everyone to answer it with guesswork." He hesitated, choosing his next words. "That's not how we keep people safe."
A few elders exchanged looks. Elder Shen's tone was even. "And what interval do you propose?"
"Long enough to study what happened," Xiao Yan said. "Long enough for the finalists to adjust their training. A week would be better than days."
Elder Zhao tapped the arm of his chair. "You are not the only finalist. This buys you time too."
Xiao Yan didn't deny it. "Yes. It buys me time. It buys everyone time."
He shifted, glancing briefly toward Xiao Yu before facing the elders again. The next part he delivered without polish.
"And… about bringing him back." He rubbed his thumb over the ring at his finger and stopped. "Please don't talk about that yet. Not like this. If you say it out loud now, people will hear it as permission. They'll think power forgives everything."
Silence held. Elder Li watched him, measuring.
"You speak as though the decision is ours alone," Elder Wu said. "It may not remain so."
"Then it's better to be clear before others come knocking," Xiao Yan said. His tone didn't harden; it stayed simple. "He's strong. That's true. But we don't understand what he used. We don't know the cost of it. Until we do, keeping him outside is safer for everyone."
Xiao Yu's shoulders eased by a fraction. She didn't look at Xiao Yan, but her jaw unclenched.
Elder Shen leaned back. "Extending the interval is reasonable. It will be seen as prudence."
Elder Zhao inclined his head. "And the other matter?"
Elder Wu answered for the room. "We make no move to change his status. Not now. If approached, we will say the clan is observing and will not comment further."
There were small nods across the hall. No cheers. No relief. Just a line drawn.
Xiao Yan bowed again, less stiff this time. "Thank you."
As he turned to leave, Elder Li called after him, "You said we are not prepared. Are you?"
He paused at the threshold. "No," he admitted. "But I'm working on it."
He stepped out into the corridor's cooler air, the murmur of the elders resuming behind him. Xiao Yu stayed where she was, hands at her sides, eyes on the empty space where the arena would be if the walls were made of glass. The decision stood, for now. The problem outside the gates did not shrink because of it.